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Quote by JakeWest187

Hey guys,

I've been playing in an Alternative/Emo band for the past year and we're starting to write some new material. I've mostly written the rhythm aspect of our songs, but having our lead guitarist leave, I've been having to write most of the leads as well.

What are some good techniques and advice to writing leads? I wanna create something unique and catchy, but I've been encountering a lot of bumps in the road when it comes to writing in different keys and what not. I'm really trying to expand my diversity when it comes to this.

Bingo. We're trying to expand everyone's palette, there are so many unexplored creative facets to guitar improv. Even players as "out there" as Tosin Abasi have a relatively limited harmonic palette compared to the average jazzer. Guthrie being a rare exception.

yes, good stuff, and I appreciating you letting me disagree without making it a big huge silly argument.

Of course, you'll actually find it's a similar concept, seeing as the pentatonic for the I chord is the same as the pentatonic up a fifth for the IV chord.

The real thing to take away is to think about it on a chord by chord basis, instead of key by key. This gives you more possibilities to jump off of.

Or not, its just a different technique/approach. I do it both ways all the time, and so do many players.

sure, me too. I see it all as the same thing.... I'm in this key... but I'm using this particular scale over this one chord to bring out some different colors. Not unlike using an altered scale over a dominant for an altered sound.

My wording was a little off on that one. I don't meant that a pentatonic scale reduces or simplifies the progression. It works more like this:

All the chords in that progression revolve around/point to a tonic triad. The pentatonic scale embellishes the tonic triad, so you can use it to generalize the harmony, playing to the key center instead of the specific chords, because both the scale and the chords revolve around the same thing: the key center. JTJ #2 has a more in depth explanation.

I guess I see it differently. To keep it simple…..

If I was to use Major pentatonic over a I - IV progression I would hear the notes as:

1,9,3,5,6/13 over the I chord

5, 6/13, 7, 9, 3 over the IV chord.

So for me the approach is pretty much the same as using the Major scale, but with less choices (like theres no 7th for the I chord).

2. The reason a pentatonic scale "works" in improvisation is because it reduces the entire chord progression to the tonic triad, generalizing the key center. When you improvise over something like this:

Cmaj7 - G7 - F#m7b5 -Fmaj7 -Fm7 - Bbmaj7 - C

with a C major pentatonic scale, you are just playing over this progression instead:

C

Which leads us to point #3.

3. As we all may know, we tend to use only the pentatonic scale of the key we are in. We don't change pentatonic scales over every chord; this is unnecessary and confusing. Playing a blues with a different pentatonic for every chord wouldn't sound very much like Hendrix, would it?

Overall, great post, but I have to respectfully disagree with point 2. Using a pentatonic scale over a progression does not change, generalize, or reduce the progression in any way. Those chords are still there and still function in the same way. The scale just colors the melody differently.

For example if you play C Major pentatonic over a I - IV progression, the I is still the tonic, and the IV is still subdominant. The notes that were chord tones / non-chord tones are the same regardless of wether you use the full Major or Major pentatonic.

Quote by Jet Penguin

Dominant chords take a major pent, NOT a blues scale. A blues scale is used to generalize the the key center, not the chord.

I don't agree with this either. The blues scale is just another color. The key center is dictated by the chord progression.

For example, if you have the progression I - vi - ii - V, and you played

(I Major blues) to (vi minor blues) to (ii minor blues) to (V Major blues)

It would still clearly sound like I - vi - ii - V. Nothing about the key center changes, you'll just have a melody that's colored differently than if it was played strictly diatonic/Major.

Anyway, I think you made a great post, and it's obvious you put alot into it. Best stuff I've seen at UG by far. Modes thread was great also.

I suppose that's true. I just don't think you can do the inverse and say someone who knows all their chords knows nothing of theory.

I can, and I'm not trying to be a jerk. I'm really happy for the person knowing all their chords, but that alone doesn't constitute knowledge of music theory….. only a knowledge of how to play chords on the guitar.

Quote by Jet Penguin

Even subconsciously, they are displaying an understanding (intuitive, analytical or otherwise) of the way certain sounds behave.

I would say that in most cases they are oblivious to the concepts and unable to explain them beyond "this sounds cool". Through experience, they may become familiar combinations of chords that they like, but are likely to not get the idea of chord progressions/ chord function.and that's what I call playing by ear, and personally I don't have a problem with it.

Theory IMO is the concepts. So knowing how to play a G chord is not theory. Knowing that the a G chord is derived from root, 3rd and 5th of the G Major scale IS theory.

again, Im not trying to downgrade anyone, but I always hear this concept thrown around in "should I learn theory" arguments. It's like "oh, Hendrix really did know theory even though he didn't know he knew"…… "so you should learn theory"..

and that just bugs that shit out of me, Im sorry

There are so many good reasons to learn theory, BS is not necessary and just muddles things up.

It's all relative. The person who knows the note and chord names knows more theory than someone who doesn't.....

Again I disagree. I would say that they know the same amount of theory.

That's in no way saying that knowing note and chord names is "bad"….. and it's not saying that general knowledge of that sort won't help you when studying theory…. it certainly does…. but on it's own it's not actually theory knowledge.

You've probably already started learning theory. When I say "play a minor chord" I'm talking about theory - and you know what I mean, right? When I say, "play in the major scale" I'm talking about theory, and you know what I mean, don't you?

I hear this sort of thing often here, but I don't really buy it.

Playing an A minor chord, and knowing what to call it, is not the same thing as understanding what notes are in that chord, and why…. or how that chord functions in a particular key.

If you don't understand the concepts, then you don't understand the theory.

Likewise if you solo using a particular scale….. using your ear, but have no idea whether your playing a chord tone or non-harmonic tone, or why that scale is appropriate….. You may very well sound incredible, but you don't actually understand theory.

As far as what's common practice, certain scales work better than others, and that's where CST comes in.

The progression Maggara just posted works equally well with both G and G#.

well, it's always a person choice, and lots of things can work. It depends on how defined the progression is.

The given progression Bm - D - A - Bm is ambiguous in that it has chords that are also diatonic to B dorian, so naturally you could solo with either scale over that, as well as a few others. Throw a subdominant in the mix, and things change. Throw V in there and play that natural 9 over it…. maybe you'll say you like for the sake of argument, but take a look a handful of jazz solos over a minor progression and you're much more likely to see b9's and #9s. Yeah, it's your choice, but if a person is asking questions, they're probably wondering what other people do (I call that common practice). It's a good place to start to anyway.

Quote by MaggaraMarine

It's also not rare to use the dorian scale over the i (minor) chord when the chords don't change that fast. For example in songs like Summertime playing dorian over the first 4 bars would work. Same in Take 5 over the i-v vamp.

The more ambiguous it is, the more freedom you have to define it as a soloist. So sure if you hang on 1 chord for a long time you can color it in all sorts of ways.

same with a i - v vamp. i - v is also diatonic to dorian… so the scale naturally will work over it.

Those are special cases though. A typical minor progression will include subdominants, and dominant V chords.

Quote by MaggaraMarine

^ I don't even know what a "natural minor" progression is

I was just using the TS's words. I should have said typical minor progression.

and besides all that, what the TS is really asking is…… Since B minor is the relative minor to D Major, does that mean I can use B dorian over both? The answer to that is no.

Yes, I play the chords along with the songs and with the same strumming patterns.

Excellent. When you study chord progressions, you'll have some great reference points already under your fingers and in your ears. That's a big deal.

Quote by josonmj

No I can't read music, but I am planning to get Justin's Music Theory book, which covers pretty much everything from basics to advanced. So that should take care of that.

It might teach you how to read the staff, but becoming a proficient reader takes time & regular practice. It's more than just understanding it. While it certainly can't hurt to try the book, I'm just saying you may need more than just that. Something with reading exercises that you can work on everyday and progress.

The songs I learn are taught by Justin, they all have nothing but chord progressions.

Thats good!

Can you play them all the way through, along with the original recording?

Also can you read music? If not I would recommend getting through at least 1, if not a few method books. Mel Bay, Hal Leonard…. anything like that. They aren't all that "cool" but being able to read standard notation will make things easier when studying theory.

"But X NEVER learned theory, and he's incredible!" That's BS, most great guitarists at least pick the theory up early in their playing careers.

Not necessarilysome do, some don't.

There are definitely great players that don't "know" theory. There are also players that know a ton of theory and sound horrible. and of course there is everything in between.

If a person is genuinely interested in learning theory, they should based on that interested, and not just because some random dude on the internet said they should.

As far as when you should learn it? I recommend waiting till you can play a bit 1st. Get the basics out of the way, have some songs under your belt. That why you can see the concepts in the proper context.

If you're exclusively into metal... like drop C screamo stuff, you're going to have a tough time, because what they do is often not consistent with what you would be studying...especially at 1st. To cure that I'd recommend getting some good ol fashioned songs into the mix. Stuff with chord progressions, and melodies.

I have been playing for 5-6 years. mostly by myself. I have learned a good amount of theory and taken a few college classes. I have read hundreds of pages of free lessons online and watched hundreds of videos online, even "complete" courses. I have had three different guitar teachers and if you were to add all the private lessons i have done they would be around 20-30.

For some reason i just dont understand what the hell i am doing. 95% of the time I am just plucking strings and I never create things that i like. Even though I know more theory than most people, I never play with anyone else because I always feel inadequate. like i cant bring anything real to the table. like i lack creativity. It seems like everything that i have learned is pointless and i dont know how to use it correctly. All i ever seem to do is get stuck and just start playing minor scales or pentatonics in the same key over and over. Anytime i would go to a private lesson, it would be as if the teacher would just give me a very small fraction of what i really need to know(1/100000213142342135th). Like i need to see that teacher for 45 years and then I will say, "oh i get it now". there is one more teacher in my area that i am going to try who has a phd in music and plays electric guitar. I am so damn frustrated i feel like throwing my guitar into a brick wall.

It seems like either i havent grasped the concepts that i have learned, or my education is incomplete, or my brain is partially turned off. I am really hoping that i just havent learned enough. I just wish there was some place that would take someone from total noob to rediculous mastery level of the electric guitar without leaving a SINGLE THING OUT.

I've seen this sort of thing happen to people that practice and study alot.... but don't actually play much. (like songs and stuff... for fun)

so does this concept of moving shapes also apply to scales? I really havent bothered learning scales just mostly chords. If i were to learn a pattern say for the c major scale, could i use that same pattern to play a different major scale?

well, I'm not sure, but whatever it is, you should definitely learn it, because if you can play the "hardest song", it would indicate that you are awesome, and that all other songs will be easy for you. right? Like you wont' even have to learn anything else if you can play the hardest song ever.

Seeing some of the learning tools out there, like Fretlight, Rocksmith, GuitarPro, etc. I'm looking for suggestions...

I've been playing guitar for over 10 years now, but have very little formal training. Prior to picking up guitar, I had many years of formal violin training... however my guitar learning has been through playing with tabs or a few short lived periods with an instructor.

I can pick up most songs fairly quickly by ear at this point, but am more interested in creating more of my own music. I have basic chords and scales under my belt...along with good technique and a good ear.... having more knowledge would definitely benefit my creation process.

Also might be worth noting that I'm mostly into rock... Alice in Chains / Tool / Perfect Circle type stuff... I'd equate the things I come up with most have a Perfect Circle type vibe to them.

Anyone have suggestions for a learning aid geared toward an intermediate guitarist? I know it's better to be well rounded... but considering the stuff I'm into, am I over-complicating things? Would mastering a few of the right scales / progressions do the trick?

If an learning aid is the way to go... From the list above, it seems like GuitarPro might be the best option out of those, but I may just be scratching the surface of the options out there. Definitely open to suggestions and any feedback.

I believe all your problems would be solved if you'd just sit and talk with your students. Discover what they want to achieve and explain them all the process behind getting them there.

Your students probably are "unwilling to go through the process of learning the necessary fundamentals" because they didn't know there were fundamentals and no one told them there were.

They thought you'd just say do this and do that and they'd be doing it with ease very quickly. Most people know absolutely nothing about guitar before they start studying it, I still remember that in my first lesson I held my guitar like a left-handed, even though I am right-handed (gladly my teacher fixed that before I played my first note).

How long have you been teaching for?

how many students do you have?

I wish it was as simple as just "sitting and talking…explaining the process"but it's not. Many people simply don't listen….. or only listen to things they want to hear…. or listen and say "yeah I get It I'm gonna practice all the time"…. but then don't.

Quote by jerrykramskoy

guitarmonkey, mp8andgrade

And that raises the question of teacher leading student, or teacher responding to student (and add in parents to that, maybe). Of course, it's a challenging balancing act here.

Further thoughts? What is this right balance in your views (either as teacher, or as student)? Again, what would those top 5 points be?

cheers, Jerry

There is no ideal right balance, because your dealing with different people that have different goals, different personalities, different amounts of dedication, different ages, different tastes in music, different attitudes, different amount of experience...…ect.

I find that you have to approach each individual as such. What works or is appropriate for one person, isn't always right for the next. And It usually takes more than 1 lesson to get to know people.

so if in your 1st lesson your teacher shows you basic stuff like how to read notes, how to hold your pick properly, and sit with good posture, trust that what they're teaching you is important, and assume that rocking out and looking cool for your friends comes later….. and realize that expecting that to happen in your 1st lesson was your mistake.

This is mainly a question for people new(ish) or revisiting the guitar.

What do hope to gain from a guitar learning method (be that via a teacher, a book, software, video ...)? What would your top 5 things be on your wish list where you would feel, once I can do these, "Yeah, I'm really start to get somewhere now!!". Is it playing some of a favourite solo? Jamming? Getting to grips with navigating the neck? Chords? What ever??

I remember when I first attended guitar lessons with a teacher,armed with a classical guitar (not that I wanted to play classical, but my parents wouldn't fork out for an electric (I was 10 years old then)).

But even then, I had a real fire to be able to play a few tunes and jam a bit with some of my musical friends without making a complete twat of myself (they were a bit older than me, but kind enough to put up with my attempts) ...

So, I'm full of enthusiasm and expectation, and what happens on my first lesson?

Here we go, Every Good Buy Deserves Fun (the dreaded score), and hey, after a few weeks, we got to do "How much is that doggy in the window". What a complete let down, turn off, you name it. I wanted to move on, get good(ish), have some vague clue, pull the chicks (I looked older than my age :-) ).

So, for the fun of it, what is your top 5 things youi'd like to achieve in a short time (say over a couple of months)? Be fascinating to see how common (or not) these are.

The name of the game: keep it short. Try and keep it to 5 points.

And then us guys that teach for a living will fix the world :-)

cheers, Jerry

so IN YOUR VERY 1ST LESSON he tried to teach you to read and you're like "booooooring" this teacher must not know what he's doing?

I come across kids like that all the time. As a teacher you think, well okay I need to give the kid something he can relate to, something to get him fired up. How about maybe an easy power chord riff…… what you get? "that's too hard…….. my fingers hurt."

or you get "how come your not teaching my kid to read "????

or "all my teacher ever did was show me songs, I wish he would have taught me some theory and how to read"

Sometimes instead of asking ourselves "what do I want to get out of my teacher" we oughta ask things like " what am I willing to put into it" and " do I have realistic expectations"

I find that alot of people have these goals like "I want to learn to improvise", but they are unwilling to go through the process of learning the necessary fundamentals.

I think every single player you listed tends to play in a rather horizontal fashion, rather than playing in a box shape. Yes, they play in "X position" for a few bars, but they hardly ever spend the whole song/solo/whatever in the same position. So, yeah...really bad examples...

horizontal fashion = moving between various positions, utilizing the various patterns across the neck.

so yeah, actually a great example.

who are you into that doesn't utilize scale patterns?

Quote by crazysam23_Atax

Some of them do, some of them don't. It all depends on context too.

They all do. Or maybe there is someone I never heard of that you're into that "doesn't use scale patterns".

Quote by Jet Penguin

Patterns are good. Pattern Playing is bad.

What do you mean by "pattern playing"? and how is it bad?

Like is this bad playing because he moves patterns around?

or maybe he's ignoring patterns, not using muscle memory, but instead thinking of every single note and interval relationship as he plays it? IDK, I'm thinking probably not

I'm gonna do a both a favor and not rehash the same damn conversation we've had 100 times before.

Every time you bring up the same damn point, you are rehashing it.

You said that scale patterns are training wheels, so do you think that players like Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Steve Morse, Guthrie Govan, John Petrucci, Yngwie Malmsteen,or Paul Gilbert are all beginners?

Because someone arbitrarily decided they are and everyone else went along with it? Because someone looked at the fretboard and went, "It's rectangular! Why not divide it up and play scales in positions"? Seriously, why?.

No, it's because that's the shape they make….. nobody decided that…. it's just the way it is.

Quote by crazysam23_Atax

To me, shapes are like training wheels. And you're supposed to take the training wheels off after a short time. Too many people never bother to take the training wheels off.

They're not like training wheels at all. They simply represent where the notes of a particular scale reside on your fretboard.

If you want to the sound of the Major scale, the notes you play will reside within the Major scale pattern…. so yeah, knowing that pattern is helpful, and it's not something you forget or avoid, once you get "good".

You could learn the notes of the fretboard and then learn the intervals of the pentatonic scale (which you should know anyway) and not bother to memorize pattern after pattern after pattern, as you add more and more scales. Ugh.

Well, you'd still be learning pattern after pattern. The "intervals of the pentatonic scale" IS a pattern. (so are all of the intervalic formulas for ANY scale).

What should happen though (and this is a good thing), is that you'd understand the patterns behind the patterns. good stuff…… but if you think memorizing patterns is a bother, then this would be too. and if you think your getting around this whole pattern business….. think again.

whats good.. Quick intro: im tyler (21) 6 years on guitar, 2 on vocals and im looking to pick up bass now (a third instrument should keep my mind off cannabis) .. just trying to get some information from any experienced bassists on the basics of bass guitar to figure out how simple picking it up would be.. I have done no research into it so far, but I would assume this is going to be a much easier process than for someone who doesn't know any stringed instrument. I love playing heavy rock riffs, its an amazing feeling.. I play a shitload of red hot chili peppers songs and get to feel the riffs on guitar.. but I also need to start going hard like flea for the full experience .. so if u have bass experience and possibly a little guitar experience as well, please post any opinions below:

We occasionally still hear guitar solos on new (as in, the last 5 years) rock songs, so I wouldn't say it's dead. It's just that a lot of radio hits cut out the "less important parts", which includes the guitar solo.

I am speaking purely in terms of popular music here/what the masses like to listen to. Whenever I listen to the radio and hear so called "modern rock" it doesnt really sound like rock at all. There are no guitar solos, not many guitar fills and usually besides a few chords it is mostly synth type stuff and bass.

yup, rock is truly dead. It was murdered by video games, computers and the associated dwindling of attention spans.

Quote by hanginout

Do you think people nowadays do't really understand/care for classic rock including soloing and riffwork?

Yes, I do

Quote by hanginout

What do you think it takes for a "modern rock" band to get picked up nowadays? What type of style?

I prefer guitar synth to regular guitar, but you need immaculate technique and killer lateral vibrato to avoid misfiring the thing.

I love it. It's hardcore mode, no room for dumb error.

I get a lot of flak at school for being the one guitar player who prefers new/digital to vintage/analog. It's 2014, embrace the future.

I think it's cool, it's just not as dynamic as playing a real instrument.

and alot things that you consider "dumb error" actually sound great on a real guitar and are not in any way errors…. but a midi pickup doesn't know what to do with those sounds, so you have to change how you play.

I just bought GuitarMIDI (http://jamorigin.com/products/midi-guitar/) and I like it a lot. Just plug the guitar into your A/D interface, and it generates MIDI which can be used with its own provided synth, or routed on to whatever. No hex pickup required, and it handles chords, hammers, pull-offs etc.

I've also tried YouRock guitar, a dedicated MIDI controller, built like a guitar, but no strings. This I find much harder to play.

Just wondering if any of you have experimented with guitar and synth, and how happy you were with the playability, tracking, false triggering ...

cheers, Jerry

I use a midi guitar quite often. It obviously opens you up to a wide variety of sounds, which is great, but ultimately it's not nearly as expressive or dynamic as playing a guitar.

I find I have to do alot of post production fixes …. cleaning up midi.

personally I think the midi thing is better suited for a keyboard controller rather than a guitar.

Additionally, no one has ever exactly explained basics or anything to me. Like, they've always said, "Oh, don't worry about scales or chords, just play what you want to play." As a result, for the past 9 months, I've been looking up tabs and trying to play them, usually poorly. So when someone talks guitar or guitar vocabulary, I'm completely clueless. I mean, ****, I didn't even know that the different types of strings (E,A,D,G,E) were actually notes..

its funny because when I try to get students to focus on the basics, they often just ignore me, and end up doing whatever they want.

Quote by SouthOfEvan13

I've taken lessons, and they really don't help. Every time I walk into the lesson and I ask my guitar teacher to teach me some basic stuff I don't already know, he always says, "I don't know, show me a song you want to play and I'll show you how to play it."

so he's like " lets just do songs because I don't actually know anything… not even basic stuff" ??

or maybe he's just trying to get you playing some music to get you going?

Quote by SouthOfEvan13

I mean, I guess what I'm trying to ask is, are all of these things normal? Am I being impatient and impulsive? .

it seems to me that you might be.

Quote by SouthOfEvan13

I really just want to know what I'm doing and play well already,

it's been less then a year. You have to get over of the fact that your human.

Quote by SouthOfEvan13

because I'm afraid if I spend an hour or so a day for 10 years and it turns out I either still suck or have been doing something wrong all of these years that I've been wasting my time.

Thats dumb… don't think that way.

If your teacher truly doesn't know anything and only teaches you songs because of that….. find a new teacher. Maybe though, your teacher really does know what they are doing, and are just waiting for you to practice what they already showed you before getting more in depth? simple songs and riffs are a good way to get your bearings on basic skills. Maybe he plans on getting you into theory when your ready? (maybe not IDK)

so im really keen on getting into music i have loads of ideas but im stuck as where to go next?

every time ive asked i get a multitude of different answers and my brain works in such a way that theres so much to learn i cant start anywhere!

im a competent player i know all major minor dominant 7th and minor 7th chords as a starting point chord wise, i only know the a minor pentatonic scale.

i really wanna find a band and make music, bluesy rock prog really, and i know i have so mucjh to learn in order to be confident with myself, right now i couldnt dare be in a band cause id get found out for such a lack of theory knowledge!

can anyone advise as im entirely self taught for 8 years now, where do i go next, what should i be learning, songs? from start to finish, i tried that but again i try to learn with my ear and i just get found out.

should i learn the notes on the fretboard, or chord progressions? or just try write whats in my head or just go with a particular chord or note and such?

if you consider yourself a good gutiarist please let me know how you did it!

Hello, I am wondering how many of you know every note on the fret board? I mean, if someone was to be like 'show me the b note on the 4th string' you'd be able to choose it without any reference.

I can do that

Quote by 6stringstudent

I have been playing for a year now (self taught) and I am trying to learn every note on the fretboard, but I don't know how thorough I need to be. Like when you skilled players improvise, do you refer on scale shapes to play, or do you know every single note you fret when you play.

Well, if you've only been playing a year, I don't think just memorizing the fretboard on its own, without any context, is going to do you all that much good.

I would suggest learning them gradually, and in the context of music. For example reading music in all position helps quite a bit…. so does thinking of chords/notes by their names rather than by the tab numbers.

Quote by 6stringstudent

If you do know every note on the fret board and don't rely on scale boxes,

I know every note on the fret-board, but I still play within scale "boxes" because that's what happens when you play a particular scale or chord… it makes shapes on your instrument. I would say I recognize and utilize those patterns, rather than rely. I can play in, out and around those "boxes", because I'm familiar with them. There is no "stuck", theres no "rely". They are not "training wheels" that you grow out of.

Quote by 6stringstudent

what would your best way of learning the matter be? I have been trying to learn the strings each string a day and I think that's why I struggle to switch strings.

Thanks for your help.

I think you struggle because at this stage of the game, that information is not useful to you. (at some point it will be)

You need something to attach it to in order for it to stick, and be useful.

Try learning to read, get more experience in general.

Quote by rockgodman

I can say with confidence I know every note on the fretboard. However knowing every note is an effect of doing other things, not necessarily the goal. From reading music in every position, and learning shapes, soloing over chords in every key, and playing guitar solos and solos from other instruments and analyzing them, you eventually know every note quite handily. Most of all of this came when studying guitar in college, and it doesn't happen in a year or 2 but its a very real possibility for all guitar players if they want to. Just don't try learning the notes by learning the notes, that would be the least practical way of learning.

Hi, I am trying to improve my soloing and trying to sound different, versus playing the same riffs over and over again so I want to learn the movable shapes of the aeolian mode, I am looking for something similar to this: http://www.coniferguitar.com/Blues_scales_for_guitar/Em_sixnote_blues_scale/Em_sixnote_blues_scale.html is this the best way to learn scales? I know I should know where all the notes are to construct each scale, anyway I want but I cant remember ALL the notes and where they are so for now I -think- I should just learn the patterns as I am more of a visual learner, is this the right thing to do? Please help, thanks.

easy to understand patterns...

(Invalid img)

to play them in E, simply play them where the root (colored note) = E

for example play pattern 1 but with the root at the 12th fret, which is E.

How do young inexperienced guitarists find lessons from world class guitarists? Like Kirk Hammett being taught by Joe Satriani. I'm a young guitarist with a lot of commitment just like many other young guitarists out there and I want a really good teacher to teach me the secrets of guitar. How does one go about getting an exceptional guitar teacher?

Most guitar teachers are going to be good enough to teach you. Don't get hung up on stories about what famous person taught another…… that stuff looks good in an article, but it happens by chance. Go to local store, take some lessons. If you're getting something out of it, keep going, if not find another teacher. And you might be studying with the next Satriani….. or the Satriani that wasn't lucky enough to make it big but is still an awesome teacher/player.

The real secret to guitar is that you have to play often and for a decent amount of time before you get good.

I'm trying to think of a way to make this thread have a purpose but it's impossible.

Well the purpose was to get peoples opinions on whether or not guitarists can continue to competetively push the boundaries on things like how fast they play, or how low they tune. I single those out because they are prevalent, but there are plenty of other things that this could apply to.

Quote by jazz_rock_feel

You don't like the way a subset of guitarists approach music and hope that they start approaching it the way you do.

Not exactly. I'm not asking for anyone to change their approach. There is lots of music out there to choose from, plenty of which I can enjoy.

I am questioning though, whether they will hit a brick wall at some point, and how will that effect their approach? Like will they find another aspect to push and if so what? Will they quit guitar altogether and find a new challenge? Or will they just keep getting faster, and keep tuning lower and lower?

Quote by jazz_rock_feel

I think your sig pretty much sums up what you were looking for in this thread.

That's presumptuous of you and incorrect. I was looking for what I asked for….. opinions.

And yes I do find shred to be gaudy music. Don't make the mistake of thinking that I meant " I find all fast or technically difficult music to be gaudy"….. because I don't mean that.